Dear Family
Everything has been going super well. I have now been in Japan for a little over a month. Time is so crazy it seems to be going really fast. So much has happened in just this last week. Zone conference was amazing I learned so much.We have about 18 missionaries in our zone but it covers about the second biggest areas in the mission. It was funny we had 14 Elders all stay in just a four man apartment. Some even had to sleep on the balcony it was so crowded. We also did some exchanges this week also. I actually went with a Japanese Elder for a half hour or so to do some streeting. He knew a little bit of English but it was amazing at well we could actually communicate. Then Zone leaders came over for a day and it was amazing. We had set some pretty good goals. Halfway through the day we completed almost all of our goals. We met so many different people who really seem like they have been prepared to receive the gospel. Being a missionary is so great. I feel so blessed for all of the opportunities we have to tell people about the church. I'm so grateful for all of the time we have for study also. I learn so many different things every week. How you study in the morning really kind of sets up the day for you. Countless times throughout the day I'll be reminded of what I studied that morning. Recently I've learned more about the power of prayer. Through prayer we can do so many things like receive revelation, guidance, and physical/spiritual strength. We seem to be praying for everything. Something I learned in seminary was to always have a prayer in your heart. Now I finally understand what it truly means to have a prayer in your heart. It honestly seems like I'm praying every minute. I'm so very grateful for all the prayers that are being said for me. Thank you all. I pray that all continues to go well. I love all of you so much.
Love Elder Gandy
ギャンディ 長老
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Dear Family,
It was great getting your e-mail. It sounds like everything is going great. That is so awesome that Joshua won those awards but its not very surprising やっぱり he is very talented. That is why I always brag for him and still do.
I think that is so fun that my friends still come over and hang out. Seems like they are all doing really well. I can't wait to find out where Ferrin and Shorty are going on their missions. We figured it takes about 10 or so days for a letter to get here. Usually when we check the mail we just get a bunch of pizza coupons that make the price half off which is still double the price of pizza in America so its not really worth it. Speaking of food this week me and my companion made some fried chicken it was so good.
So earlier this week I went on my first exchanges. It was a lot of fun. They only had three bikes and since I was the smallest I had to ride on the back of one of the bikes. We had several people that looked at us kind of funny. I first went with a missionary who actually reminds me a lot of Mikey. It was really fun. He has only been in Japan for one transfer more than me so we both don't know the language that well. It was great though because we actually taught a lesson and gave them a book of mormon with our very simple japanese.
There have been so many miracles I've seen. I love mission life it is so great. This week we actually have been having a lot of success with less actives. We are also meeting with an excommunicated member. We have found out that they all still believe in everything that church teaches. They just don't know if they can do it but we know they can and we are always there encouraging them. We actually had three less actives come to church and we met some more that people haven't seen in forever.
So yesterday we had a Baptism!!! It was an amazing experience seeing her take this step in her life. This was my first baptism! YAY!!! I felt so honored to be a part of that special ordinance. Afterwards she bore her testimony and it was just so amazing. She has a real desire to learn and grow. I loved seeing her grow and progress as we taught her. It is so great being a missionary I have honestly been so blessed and I'm so grateful for all of the prayers. We also taught the lesson in priesthood meeting the other day and we talked about prayer. The power of prayer is amazing it has been so helpful to me. I know that Heavenly Father listens to our prayers and answers them. He will always be there we just have to make sure we make that time for him and always make it a special experience. Now I'm actually getting ready to go to my first zone conference. I love you all so much and pray for you everyday. Thanks for all of your support.
Love Elder Gandy
p.s. here is a picture from the baptism.
It was great getting your e-mail. It sounds like everything is going great. That is so awesome that Joshua won those awards but its not very surprising やっぱり he is very talented. That is why I always brag for him and still do.
I think that is so fun that my friends still come over and hang out. Seems like they are all doing really well. I can't wait to find out where Ferrin and Shorty are going on their missions. We figured it takes about 10 or so days for a letter to get here. Usually when we check the mail we just get a bunch of pizza coupons that make the price half off which is still double the price of pizza in America so its not really worth it. Speaking of food this week me and my companion made some fried chicken it was so good.
So earlier this week I went on my first exchanges. It was a lot of fun. They only had three bikes and since I was the smallest I had to ride on the back of one of the bikes. We had several people that looked at us kind of funny. I first went with a missionary who actually reminds me a lot of Mikey. It was really fun. He has only been in Japan for one transfer more than me so we both don't know the language that well. It was great though because we actually taught a lesson and gave them a book of mormon with our very simple japanese.
There have been so many miracles I've seen. I love mission life it is so great. This week we actually have been having a lot of success with less actives. We are also meeting with an excommunicated member. We have found out that they all still believe in everything that church teaches. They just don't know if they can do it but we know they can and we are always there encouraging them. We actually had three less actives come to church and we met some more that people haven't seen in forever.
So yesterday we had a Baptism!!! It was an amazing experience seeing her take this step in her life. This was my first baptism! YAY!!! I felt so honored to be a part of that special ordinance. Afterwards she bore her testimony and it was just so amazing. She has a real desire to learn and grow. I loved seeing her grow and progress as we taught her. It is so great being a missionary I have honestly been so blessed and I'm so grateful for all of the prayers. We also taught the lesson in priesthood meeting the other day and we talked about prayer. The power of prayer is amazing it has been so helpful to me. I know that Heavenly Father listens to our prayers and answers them. He will always be there we just have to make sure we make that time for him and always make it a special experience. Now I'm actually getting ready to go to my first zone conference. I love you all so much and pray for you everyday. Thanks for all of your support.
Love Elder Gandy
p.s. here is a picture from the baptism.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Note from Gayleen
In Joseph's last e-mail he suggested that I sign up with ldsmissionarymoms.com. Actually it was a suggestion he passed on from his companion's mother. After I signed up I was really excited to receive an e-mail from her. She sent me the following paragraph that her son wrote about working with Joseph. I thought you would all enjoy reading it. This is what Elder Everett wrote:
So Wednesday, after a long day of wondering who in the world I'm going to be with I finally learned that my next companion for the next 6 weeks, at least, is Elder Gandy (pronounced Gyandy, which in Japanese sounds very much like candy), from West Valley Utah. He is a brand new missionary, fresh out of the MTC (so fresh that he was actually in the MTC choir at the Saturday Afternoon session of General conference.... I know; I found him!) and full of what we call here, "Dendo Fire" or, a desire to work. I really don't know what it is, but in the past 5 days we've really seen at least a miracle a day! New investigators that magically speaks English so that Elder Gandy can bear his testimony to them, self-referrals that come to church asking if they can join, running into a member randomly on the street and getting invited to dinner the next day, getting in contact with a less active member for the first time in over a year, or the investigator who finally got her job to give her a break to come to church; we really have just seen a ton of miracles every day.
So Wednesday, after a long day of wondering who in the world I'm going to be with I finally learned that my next companion for the next 6 weeks, at least, is Elder Gandy (pronounced Gyandy, which in Japanese sounds very much like candy), from West Valley Utah. He is a brand new missionary, fresh out of the MTC (so fresh that he was actually in the MTC choir at the Saturday Afternoon session of General conference.... I know; I found him!) and full of what we call here, "Dendo Fire" or, a desire to work. I really don't know what it is, but in the past 5 days we've really seen at least a miracle a day! New investigators that magically speaks English so that Elder Gandy can bear his testimony to them, self-referrals that come to church asking if they can join, running into a member randomly on the street and getting invited to dinner the next day, getting in contact with a less active member for the first time in over a year, or the investigator who finally got her job to give her a break to come to church; we really have just seen a ton of miracles every day.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
May 6, 2012
Dear Family,
Hey everything is going great. Its crazy that it has only been a week or so because so much has happened. Last p-day we had an activity with the ward where we played a bunch of different games. I also had nato for the first time and it wasn't all that bad. It did have a funny aftertaste though. Speaking of food we made a chicken pot pie but we used pancake mix for the crust and it was actually really good.
So my companion asked me to give him a haircut this week and lets just say it my be the first and last time I give a haircut. I actually got it pretty even all the way around his head but there might be one small bald spot. This week I also had my first district meeting and we have to do it by phone because we are too far away from the others but it was still great.
On friday I got to go to the temple and do a couple of sessions. It was great because I had headphones for the english translation but I did understand a little bit of the japanese. While we were there we stopped by the mission home and talked with the missionaries there. Oh so by the way I'm the a.p.'s grandson. So when you're a trainer you become a father so my trainer's dad is the a.p. It is actually kind of funny how much english I'm still using. We have a couple of ward members that don't know any japanese. There is also a college close by that has a lot foreigners there.
One of the most exciting things coming up is that we have a baptism set for the 20th. Its so amazing to see people want to come closer to Christ through receiving baptism. Earlier this week we had one of the most amazing experiences. So while we were out streeting I went up to an older gentleman and asked if we could just talk to him but totally messed it up. It was alright because Elder Everett saved me. So we started talking to him and he wasn't really interested but he told us to come and have some hot chocolate with him. We went to an american style restaurant called joyfull. While there we found out that he liked to see young people working hard and trying to help others to become happy. That is also a way to receive happiness is by seeing others and helping others to just smile. He also asked me to practice teaching him a lesson in japanese but it wasn't very good. At the end of talking to him he told us that if we ever needed any help to just call him. Then as he left he paid the waitress to give us a meal. It was amazing to see a complete stranger be so generous. We hope to contact him again soon so that I can "practice" teaching him again. Missionary work is amazing. It's great to be here in Japan serving. I love you all!
Love, Elder Joseph Gandy
Monday, April 30, 2012
April 29, 2012 - Elder Gandy's first e-mail from Japan
Note from Gayleen: About and hour before this e-mail arrived we received our first e-mail from Joseph and all it said was, "Dear Family." I thought that had to be the shortest letter ever from a missionary. Anyway, that's what he is referring to at the beginning of this e-mail.
Dear Family,
Hey this is a continuation to that first e-mail the keyboard is different so I accidently sent it. Well it has been a really amazing week my trainer is Elder Everett and he is from north carolina. He is great and his favorite sport also happens to be frisbee. My first area is called Oita its one of the biggest areas in the mission. Whenever we go to the church we have to go through a tunnel then over a bridge and then we have to ride up one of the longest hills in the mission. By the end of this transfer I should be able to conquer any obstacle on my bike. Which kind of leads to a funny story my first day here about thirty minutes after getting my bike Elder Everett flipped his bike into a bunch of dirt. So sometimes we tell people that we got into a fight and I won. The people in Oita are amazing I feel so blessed to be in such an amazing area. There have been so many miracles already. We have a few investigators who want to be baptized and one of them has a baptismal date. Its been great even though my japanese still isn't very good. So I decided that I'm just going to e-mail from now on because apparently it takes about two weeks for a letter from america to get here. Oh and since mothers day is coming up you can call me. So the number you are going to call is 011-81-80-2149-6429 and if you could call about 7:00 p.m. on the 14th it will be the 15th at 10:00 a.m. here and that would be the best time for me. I will also send some pictures next week. Everything here is amazing I'm so excited to be here in Japan serving. I love you all and wish you the best.
Love, Elder Joseph Gandy
p.s. Everyone here thinks my name is funny and most of the kids like to call me candy.
p.p.s. I was wondering if Daniel ever got kansho'ed while he was on his mission because it already happened to me.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Joseph's call from the airport.
I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Joseph while he was in the Seattle airport waiting for his flight to Japan. He told me that there is no policy on missionaries calling home from the airport but the wife of his branch president in the MTC told them (from her perspective as a mother) that they'd better call home. Since I was in Boston, he called my cell phone but he also called home and talked with Daniel for a few minutes.
Joseph was a little nervous about the language but was also extremely excited to be on his way to Japan. He was traveling with a group of 6 or 8 elders going to Fukuoka and said they'd be arriving there late in the evening - in time to go to bed for the night. Here is a brief run down of some of the things he talked about:
Joseph said they been told that the Fukuoka mission is considered the "Hawaii" of Japan. That sounds like a pretty nice description, especially compared to Daniel's mission where the missionaries are known as the "frozen chosen."
He indicated that he was aware that, although he'd never been a hard worker in school, his experience studying in the MTC had motivated him to really put a lot more effort into studying which he is sure will help him when he goes to school after his mission.
For those of you who might be wondering, he said that he met and talked with David Archuletta a couple of times and that he is a really nice and very humble guy.
I asked Joseph about singing in the choir for General Conference and he said that they had to fill out an application that asked about their previous choral experience. He was the only one in his district or zone that was chosen and able to have that opportunity. He also said that leaving the MTC for that day was really great but kind of strange and that leaving the MTC to go to the airport gave them all a taste of culture shock. Everything in the MTC is so intensely spiritual that going out into the real world was kind of strange. Joseph loved the MTC and said that the time there went by incredibly quickly.
In the MTC they have auditions for those who would like to use their talents in meetings and devotionals. Joseph suggested that Joshua be prepared with something to audition with when he goes on his mission. I'm sure that advice would apply to any of his friends who are going to the MTC in the near future. He said that David Archuletta had sung for one of their meetings and when Daniel was in the MTC, he wrote that Elizabeth Smart played the harp in one of their meetings.
I also thought it interesting that the missionaries are instructed that they are not to initiate a gospel conversation while traveling on the airplane to their mission. Of course they can talk about it if the other person initiates the conversation though.
If you were aware of the April Fool's joke, I asked Joseph about that also. (If you don't know about it, ask Cameron, Daniel, or Katie. I'm sure they'll be happy to explain.) I told him that some of us thought it might be kind of mean but he said that he knew right away it wasn't for real even if the invitation did look pretty professional.
Joseph has always had a very positive perspective on life and he is certainly taking that with him to Japan as a missionary. Of course, like all missionaries, he loves to receive mail and will appreciate letters from everyone who takes time to write. As soon as I have an updated address, I'll post it on this blog.
Gayleen
Joseph was a little nervous about the language but was also extremely excited to be on his way to Japan. He was traveling with a group of 6 or 8 elders going to Fukuoka and said they'd be arriving there late in the evening - in time to go to bed for the night. Here is a brief run down of some of the things he talked about:
Joseph said they been told that the Fukuoka mission is considered the "Hawaii" of Japan. That sounds like a pretty nice description, especially compared to Daniel's mission where the missionaries are known as the "frozen chosen."
He indicated that he was aware that, although he'd never been a hard worker in school, his experience studying in the MTC had motivated him to really put a lot more effort into studying which he is sure will help him when he goes to school after his mission.
For those of you who might be wondering, he said that he met and talked with David Archuletta a couple of times and that he is a really nice and very humble guy.
I asked Joseph about singing in the choir for General Conference and he said that they had to fill out an application that asked about their previous choral experience. He was the only one in his district or zone that was chosen and able to have that opportunity. He also said that leaving the MTC for that day was really great but kind of strange and that leaving the MTC to go to the airport gave them all a taste of culture shock. Everything in the MTC is so intensely spiritual that going out into the real world was kind of strange. Joseph loved the MTC and said that the time there went by incredibly quickly.
In the MTC they have auditions for those who would like to use their talents in meetings and devotionals. Joseph suggested that Joshua be prepared with something to audition with when he goes on his mission. I'm sure that advice would apply to any of his friends who are going to the MTC in the near future. He said that David Archuletta had sung for one of their meetings and when Daniel was in the MTC, he wrote that Elizabeth Smart played the harp in one of their meetings.
I also thought it interesting that the missionaries are instructed that they are not to initiate a gospel conversation while traveling on the airplane to their mission. Of course they can talk about it if the other person initiates the conversation though.
If you were aware of the April Fool's joke, I asked Joseph about that also. (If you don't know about it, ask Cameron, Daniel, or Katie. I'm sure they'll be happy to explain.) I told him that some of us thought it might be kind of mean but he said that he knew right away it wasn't for real even if the invitation did look pretty professional.
Joseph has always had a very positive perspective on life and he is certainly taking that with him to Japan as a missionary. Of course, like all missionaries, he loves to receive mail and will appreciate letters from everyone who takes time to write. As soon as I have an updated address, I'll post it on this blog.
Gayleen
April 24, 2012
Hey everyone I'm finally in Japan. Today we are mainly having orientations all day. Tonight I will find out my area and who my trainer is so that's exciting. We passed out cards for an English class later tonight. Some people started asking me questions about it and I wasn't sure how to respond so I just kept pointing at the card. I understood about half of what they were saying. My p-day is going to be on Monday most likely so I'll let you know how the first week and everything else goes then. I love you all!
Elder Gandy
P.S. Oh, and I got the card you sent. Thank you!
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